[Abstract] Traumatic Brain Injury and Behavior: A Practical Approach

Source: Traumatic Brain Injury and Behavior: A Practical Approach

• Traumatic brain injury,
• Psychosis,
• Suicide,
• Behavioral abnormalities,
• Seizures,
• Mania,
• Depression,
• Sleep-wake disorder

[WEB SITE] Traumatic Brain Injury: 6 Brain Functions That Suffer Most

Traumatic brain injury most often is the result of severe external force against the head. The force is violent enough to cause brain dysfunction and disrupt necessary brain and bodily functions.

When a traumatic brain injury occurs, according to the National Institutes of Health, several brain functions are disrupted causing various degrees of damage from mild to permanent.

Traumatic brain injury can be caused by blunt force trauma or by an object piercing the brain tissue.

Symptoms may be mild and temporary, moderate, or severe. Often, the injury requires brain surgery to remove ruptured blood vessels or bruised brain tissue.

Disabilities may arise depending on the extent of damage from the traumatic brain injury.

The following six brain functions suffer the most after a traumatic brain injury, according to the Mayo Clinic:

1. Nerves

When an injury occurs at the base of the skull and damages the cranial nerves, the following complications may result:

• Facial muscle paralysis
• Eye nerve damage resulting in double vision
• Loss of sense of smell
• Vision loss
• Loss of facial sensation
• Problems with swallowing

2. Intellect

A traumatic brain injury, depending on the severity of damage, can cause significant changes in cognitive and executive functioning abilities including the following:

• Memory
• Learning
• Reasoning
• Mental processing speed
• Judgment
• Attention or concentration
• Problem-solving skills
• Multitasking abilities
• Organization
• Decision-making
• Task initiation or completion ability

3. Communication

Traumatic brain injuries can significantly disrupt and affect cognitive and communication skills and have lasting social implications. The following communication and social problems may result from a traumatic brain injury:

• Difficulty understanding speech or writing
• Difficulty with speech or writing
• Disorganized thoughts
• Conversational confusion and awkwardnes

4. Behavior

Behavioral changes may be seen after a traumatic brain injury and may include the following:

• Lack of self-control
• Risky behavior
• Self-image issues
• Social difficulties
• Verbal or physical outbursts

5. Emotions

Emotional changes may include the following:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Mood swings
• Irritability
• Lack of empathy
• Anger
• Insomnia and other sleep-related problems
• Self-esteem changes

6. Sensory

Damage from a traumatic brain injury may greatly affect a person’s senses including:

• Ringing in the ears
• Problems with hand-eye coordination
• Blind spots or double vision
• Issues with taste or smell
• Tingling, pain, or itching of the skin
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Object-recognition difficulties

Source: Traumatic Brain Injury: 6 Brain Functions That Suffer Most

[WEB SITE] TBI Myths & Facts – brainline.org

TBI Myths & Facts

The Center on Brain Injury Research & Training

Brain injury isn’t like other “conditions” or “injuries.” The severity and effects depend on many things such as:

• how old the person was at injury
• what part of the brain was injured
• how severe the injury was

Everyone’s brain injury is different and the recovery patterns are too. Getting our facts straight is a crucial first step in moving toward the best possible outcomes.

Let’s get our Facts Straight

Myth: Knowing which parts of the brain have been injured will tell you the specific challenges to expect.

By knowing the location of the injury to the brain, you may have some indication of the problems to expect but not to the point of being able to predict specifically what lies ahead. Injury to brain tissue may be much more extensive than just at the site of injury. Every response to brain injury is different.

Fact: With support, many people can change their behavior after a brain injury.

With proper support and therapeutic intervention, many people with brain injury have the ability to change their behavior, learn new things, and lead full and productive lives.

Fact: Many families report that the most challenging problems after brain injury are problems with cognition (learning and thinking) and behavior (emotions and actions).

Cognitive and behavioral problems tend to present the most challenges for families. The good news is that most of these problems can be addressed. You can find many types of support in this website.

Myth: The best way to help a person with brain injury is to assist them with tasks.

As a parent, sibling or spouse of an adult with brain injury, general wisdom suggests that you be there to assist when needed, but avoid offering assistance for activities that can be done independently. Overriding your family member’s efforts (such as jumping in to finish sentences or tasks) lessens a personal sense of dignity, respect and self-worth.

Myth: After a brain injury, a person’s basic emotional needs change.

People with brain injury have the same emotional needs as every other person: to feel loved, to feel useful, to feel needed, to be treated with respect and to exercise control over their lives.

Fact: Personality traits can intensify (become stronger) after a brain injury.

A mild mannered person may tend to become more mild mannered. An aggressive personality may tend to become more difficult and more aggressive after brain injury.

Fact: It is best for a person with a brain injury to be part of any discussion about his or her treatment, care or prognosis even if it will be upsetting.

There is general wisdom that even the most difficult or troubling information should be shared with an adult with a brain injury. Many believe that an adult with a brain injury needs to be a part of EVERY discussion concerning his or her care, treatment, or any plans to help solve personal challenges.

Myth: Most recoveries for brain injury show steady improvement up until 2 years when recovery is complete.

One should expect that there will be inconsistency during the recovery period. A person with a brain injury may be able to do something easily one day, then find the same thing difficult the next day. Although much of the recovery process occurs during the first two years, it is not necessarily complete in 2 years. Recovery can continue throughout a lifetime.

Fact: The amount of time the person with a brain injury remains in a coma is one of the factors that affects recovery.

The amount of time in a coma is one of many factors that will affect recovery. Other factors are
age,

• severity of the injury,
• where in the brain the injury is located,
• early patterns of recovery,
• length of time a person is very confused or experiences amnesia,
• other injuries to the body, and
• the level of health before the injury.

Myth: It is helpful to tell your family member with brain injury that life will return to normal.

It is generally believed that one should not make promises about everything going back to what it was. Every recovery is different and only time will tell what the level of recovery will be. It is more likely that life will have a “new normal”.

Learn Something New

There is always something new to learn about brain injury. The Center on Brain Injury Research & Training provides updated information and useful trainings to help you improve your skills to support someone with a brain injury.
Visit cbirt.org for additional help and resources >

Source: TBI Myths & Facts

[WEB SITE] Coping with Behavior Problems after Head Injury

Identifying Behavior Problems

Head injury survivors may experience a range of neuro ­psychological problems following a traumatic brain injury. Depending on the part of the brain affected and the severity of the injury, the result on any one individual can vary greatly. Personality changes, memory and judgement deficits, lack of impulse control, and poor concentration are all common. Behavioral changes can be stressful for families and caregivers who must learn to adapt their communication techniques, established relationships, and expectations of what the impaired person can or cannot do.In some cases extended cognitive and behavioral rehabilitation in a residential or outpatient setting will be necessary to regain certain skills. A neuropsychologist also may be helpful in assessing cognitive deficits. However, over the long term both the survivor and any involved family members will need to explore what combination of strategies work best to improve the functional and behavioral skills of the impaired individual.

Personality Changes

Even a person who makes a “good” recovery may go through some personality changes. Family members must be careful to avoid always comparing the impaired person with the way he/she “used to be.” Personality changes are often an exaggeration of the person’s pre-injury personality in which personality traits become intensified. Some changes can be quite striking. It may be, for example, the head injury survivor used to be easy going, energetic, and thoughtful and now seems easily angered, self-absorbed, and unable to show enthusiasm for anything. Nonetheless, try not to criticize or make fun of the impaired person’s deficits. This is sure to make the person feel frustrated, angry, or embarrassed.

Continue —> Coping with Behavior Problems after Head Injury | Health Records

[REVIEW] The impact of electrical stimulation techniques on behavior – Full Text HTML

Abstract

Low-intensity transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) methods are a group of noninvasive brain stimulation techniques, whereby currents are applied with intensities typically ranging between 1 and 2 mA, through the human scalp. These techniques have been shown to induce changes in cortical excitability and activity during and after the stimulation in a reversible manner. They include transcranial direct current simulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current simulation (tACS), and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS).

Currently, an increasing number of studies have been published regarding the effects of tES on cognitive performance and behavior. Processes of learning and increases in cognitive performance are accompanied by changes in cortical plasticity. tES can impact upon these processes and is able to affect task execution. Many studies have been based on the accepted idea that by increasing cortical excitability (e.g., by applying anodal tDCS) or coherence of oscillatory activity (e.g., by applying tACS) an increase in performance should be detected; however, a number of studies now suggest that the basic knowledge of the mechanisms of action is insufficient to predict the outcome of applied stimulation on the execution of a cognitive or behavioral task, and so far no standard paradigms for increasing cortical plasticity changes during learning or cognitive tasks have been established.

The aim of this review is to summarize recent findings with regard to the effects of tES on behavior concentrating on the motor and visual areas…

more –> The impact of electrical stimulation techniques on behavior – Antal – 2014 – Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science – Wiley Online Library.

[WEB SITE] Life After Brain Injuries: Are We Still the Same People?

…When examining the responses to what appears to be injuries that are all serious in nature, it becomes apparent that some injuries are, indeed, more acute than others. Although an injury which is noticeable may on the surface seem more life changing, it cannot be argued that it is the injuries which are held within one’s mind that are the most devastating to a person’s being. Yes, they are all injuries to the body, but only those touching the brain have the capacity to change the “soul” of a person…

via Life After Brain Injuries: Are We Still the Same People? | Serendip Studio.